Container and closure cap



Feb. 6, 1945. I E. E. HOLWICK 2,368,836.

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE CAP Filed Nov. 19, 1941 INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. e, 1945- v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 v oonmmsa mziosona car Earl E. Holwick, Lanna Beach, Calif. Application November19, 1941, Serial No. 419,785:

7 Claims. (01. 222-398) This invention relates specifically tocontainers and their closure caps, such a bottles, collapsible tubes,cans and the like, in which liquids, pastes,

' powders or pellets may be distributed to the retailmarket.

The principal object of the present invention is the production ofcontainers provided with means whereby the contents may be dispensedwithout the necessity of removing their closure caps.

Another principal object is a means whereby dispensing of the contentsmay be limited according to its kind.

An important object is to provide means whereby containers may be openedand closed in the least possible time, thereby preventing excessiveevaporation of volatile liquids.

Another important object is the provision of acontainer having a closurecap that cannot be dropped, misplaced or lost.

Another important object is the provision of means for movably securinga closure cap on a container.

A further object is the provision of facilities for preventing thecontents from coming in contact with the threads on the container neckwhich may prevent the operation of properly closing the container.

Another object is the provision of a container provided with means oflimiting the movement of opening and closing the container.

A further object is the provision of means to discourage the practice ofrefilling the container with substitute products.

A still further object is a container that may be opened and closed withone hand.

These and other objects and advantages will be obvious to those of skillin the art upon examination hereof, as, for instance, economy ofmanufacture, compactness, ease and surety of operation and adaptability.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists incertain novel features of construction an arrangement of parts whichwill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed; but; for a fullunderstanding of m invention and of its objects and advantages,reference may be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side viewof a collapsible tube and 1 cap made in accordance with my invention andshowing an orifice the contents.

Fig. 2 is a front view of a closure cap.

in the side thereof for exuding Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a closurecap, taken on line 28-28 of Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a view of a circular resilient member employed to movablysecure a closure cap on a container.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a container and its neck for receiving aclosure cap.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a cap taken on line Fig. 8 is a sectionalview taken on line 2828 of Fig. 2, showing the cap in closed position.

Fig. 9 is a cross section of a modification.

i Fig. 10 is across section of a further modificat on.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 26-26 of the modificationshown in Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 5, the containerB, which may be a bottle, a can or a collapsible tube, and may be madeof glass, metal, fibre, plastics or the like, i provided with a neck F,having a screw thread IS, a short unthreaded sleeve-like extension 2|, ashoulder l5 having a downwardly extended notch or notches l8 providedwith a vertical side and'an inclined side.

The annular resilient locking member 4, as illustrated in Figures 4, 6and 8, is provided with a projection 5 which may be called a post orpin, extending upwardly at one end of said member, and a bend"6 providesan inclined downwardly extended projection forming'a spring pawl 1 onthe opposite end of said member.

The closure cap A, is provided with an aperture or outlet I 3, which maybe a slot as shown in Figures 2 and 6, or may be round in shape. Theapertur may be of size or shape to suit the consistency and purpose ofthe product for which the container may be employed. Take for instance,pastes, creams, iellies or semi-solid glutinous substances which requirepressure to cause them to flow, may be and usually are contained 'edgeof the slot is tapered downwardly as indicated at 29. By so doing. avery desirous eiiect may had, which not only enables the slot to bewiped clean, but provides a means by which the contents may flowoutwardly toward the end or top of the cap when pressure is applied tothe tube.

The inner portion of the closure cap is provided with an unthreaded,cylindrical portion I I, that extends between the gasket 9 to the screwthread I6, and is adapted to fit snugly and slide over the sleeveextension H on the neck of the container, and thereby forcing allmaterial from the cap that may harden or gum up, which may prevent,operation thereof and also prevent the contents from coming in contactwith the threads I6 which may cause an unsanitary condition. It may benoticed too, that the extension 2|, closes the aperture in the neck ofthe container.

At the lower end of the screw thread in the cap, I have provided asegmental ridge or projection 20, having a shoulder 2 at one end and ashoulder 3 at the opposite end and forming a recess 8 between the endsor shoulders of the projection. A skirt I is provided at the lowerportion of the cap, not only to conceal the mechanical elements of thecap, but to prevent the cap from being removed from the container.

The outer periphery of the skirt or cap may be provided with ribs I2, ormay be provided with one or more projections of various forms, so thatthe cap may be easily turned on the neck of the container with one ormore fingers while holding the container in the hand.

To assemble the container and closure cap into operative unity, it isonly necessary to place the ring-like resilient member over the neck ofthe container with its projecting element or post 5 extending upward.The cap may then be screwed onto the neck of the container. The annularresilient member 4 may also be dropped into the cap with the post 5extending inward toward the gasket 9, the cap may then be screwed ontothe neck,

In turning the cap on the neck of the container, the shoulder 3, engagesthe post 5, and moves the resilient locking member 4, until the sleeve2! is firmly held against the gasket 9. The notch I8 on the shoulder I5of the neck F, may be so positioned so that when the'ccntainer iscompletely closed, the inclined pawl end 1 of the resilient member 4,will drop into and permanently engage the vertical side of the notch I8,the projection 5 being slidably positioned in the recess 8 between theshoulders 2 and 3. It may be seen that the locking member 4 is in acompressed condition when the cap is in either an open or closedposition, which is due to the spiral shape of the member and therebyholds the projecting ends of the member in their respective positionswithin the notchand recess.

To open the closure aperture, the cap is turned in the direction ofopening, the threads causing the gasket 9 to be drawn away from thesleeve 2 I, which in turn clears or opens, the aperture I3. In turningthe cap in the opening movement, the shoulder 3, is moved away from thepost 5 and the shoulder 2 engages the opposite side of the post 5, andthe movement is then stopped because of the inclined pawl 'I beingpermanently engaged into the notch I8.

When the cap is in open position, as shown in Fig. 6, the ridge 20 is ina position over the downwardly inclined end or pawl I of the resilientmember 4, and thereby holding said end into the notch I8. However, whenthe cap is in closed position, the recess 8 is over the inclined end I,

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as shown in Fig. 8, and thereby prevents the bend 6 from beingstraightened out.

There are several important factors that must be taken intoconsideration to determine the size of the aperture necessary toeffectively dispense the various products accordingly to their kind,that may be housed in a container of this nature.

Take for instance, a container for holding and dispensing pills, theaperture must be slightly larger than the pills and considerably largerthan the slot in the closure cap of a collapsible tube. Therefore thespace between the gasket and the sleeve 2 I, must be increasedsufficiently to enable the aperture to be formed in the cylindricalunthreaded portion of the cap. To increase the space between the gasket8 and the sleeve 2 I, the recess 8, as shown in Fig. '7, as being onlyonehalf of a turn of the cap, can be increased to almost a full turn, byshortening the length of the ridge 20. The size of the neck on thecontainer,

and the degree of the slant of the threads, will also increase the saidspace. By replacing the notch I8 in the shoulder I5, to a recess asshown 'at 23 in Fig. 9, the space may be additionally intension betweenthe container and the cap whereby to hold the cap against accidentalmovement when in open position. Therefore the ring-like member mayrequire and may be provided with an additional coil to suflicientlyprovide the tension necessary for the additional space between thegasket and sleeve. Thus it may be seen, that the distance in which thecap may be turned, may be increased or decreased without departing fromthe spirit of my invention.

If the shoulder I5 on the container is provided with a recess 23, asshown in Fig. 9, instead of the notch I8, as shown in Fig. 8, and theprojection 20 in the cap is provided with a notch I8, as shown on theneck of the container, in place of the recess 8, as shown in Figures 6and 7, the resilient member 4 may be turned upsidedown and have the sameeffect, except that the cap will slide over the inclined projection I,instead of turning the resilient member.

In the modification shown in Fig. 9, the cap C is provided with a smallopening 22 and a spout extension on the aperture I3, which extend intothe cap below the gasket 9. The opening 22 is designed to allow air tobe sucked into the container as the liquid is being poured out of thecontainer E. The container, which may be a bottle, can orthe like, isprovided with a recess 23, instead of the notch I8. This recess permitsthe inclined end I of the annular spring member 11, the neck F on thecontainer E, and the 010- sure cap D, are each formed with a spirallyarranged ridge I6 and a groove 30, to provide screw threads by which theneck and cap may be associated. The neck F may be provided with a notch24, for receiving the inturned end 25 of the spring member, or may beprovided with the notch or notches I8 for receiving the spring pawl I ofthe spring member, as shown in Figure 6. The spiral shape of the springmember 4, being compressed between the neck and the cap, therebyproviding ass on slight pressure of a finger, thereby cutting of! saidcap wherebyflto limit movement of said cap,

the-flow of the contents. By releasing this pressure, the spring forcesthe cap in open position and sucks air into the container, whereupon thecap is again pressed, a small amount of liquid is forced out of thecontainer. Therefore it may be seen that as little as one drop of liquidmay be exuded out of the container by constructing the cap and neck inaccordance with this invention. It may also be pointed out, that thethread and groove as shown in Fig. 10, maybe formed on the neck and capshown in Fig. 9. Another important feature of this invention is thatwhen the cap is in open position, the aperture is always in the sameposition.

It may be seen by the foregoing description and bythe accompanyingdrawing, that I have economically provided a simple and novel means ofmovably securing a closure cap on a container, that may be operated byone hand, that may be opened or closed with a slight movement and cannotbe dropped or lost.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity the preferredforms of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exactstructural detail thus illustrated and described; but intend to coverall forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of myinvention. 1

I claim: I

l. The combination, in a contanier, of a screw neck having a notch, witha spiral resilient member disposed about said neck and provided with apost, and a side apertured screw cap having inwardly facing spacedshoulders, one of the-said shoulders adapted to engage said post andturn said member into permanent engagement with said notch in closedposition and the other said shoulder adapted to stop movement of saidcap when said side aperture is in open position.

2. The combination, in a container, of a threaded neck having anunthreaded sleeve-like extension, with a screw cap provided with anunthreaded cylindrical portion, means for movably securing said cap onsaid neck, and said extension and cylindrical portion adapted tocooperate in opening and closing a side aperture in said cylindricalportion upon movement of said cap, said means comprising a spiral springhaving a ratchet connection at the base of said neck and a verticalelement incased in a curved recess formed in said cap.

3. The combination, in a container, comprising a threaded neck having anunthreaded extension, with a screw cap provided with an unthreadedcylindrical section, an outlet formed in said section and a memberhaving a ratchet conand said extension and section adapted to cooperatein opening and closing said outlet, and

a gasket adapted to engage said extension and seal said container.

4. The combination, in a container, of a threaded neck having a shoulderprovided with a notch, with an apertured screw cap having a curvedsegmental recess, a spiral spring interposed between said neck and capand provided with a downwardly inclined end engaging said notch and anupwardly turned end for engaging shoulders at each end of said recess,anda skirt formed on said cap adapted to fit over and to conceal saidresilient member and notch to prevent removal of said cap.

5. The combination in a container, of a threaded neck having an externalnotch, with a threaded cap having a segmental projection providingspaced shoulders therein, and a spiral spring interposed in said cap,one end of said spring being shaped to provide ayielding pawl and theother end bent to form a vertical pin, one of said shoulders adapted toengage one side of said pin and turn said pawl into permanent engagementwithin said notch, and the other said shoulder adapted to slidablyengage the opposite side of said pin and stop movement thereof andthereby prevent unscrewing of said cap.

. 6. The combination, in a container, of a threaded neck having a notch,with a side apertured screw cap having a curved recess, and a coiledspring disposed between said neck and cap and provided with oppositelyturned ends, one of said ends being bent to provide a means for engagingsaid notch and the other of said ends forming a post secured in saidrecess and adapted to stop movement of said cap when said aperture is inopen position.

'7. The combination with a container neck having an openingtherethrough, a cap threaded on said neckand provided with an outlettherein for register with said opening, a coiled spring compressedbetween said neck and cap and provided with oppositely turned ends, oneof said ends being bent to provide a means of ratchetly engaging a notchon said, neck and the other of said ends forming a post for engagingelements in said cap to limit rotary movement of the latter, the threadsconnecting said neck and cap being arranged to provide grooves betweenthe turns of said threads, said grooves being of greater width than thewidth of said threads and adapted to enable said cap to be held in openposition by said spring and enabling said cap to be pressed from open toclosed position whereby to close communication between said opening andoutlet thereby interrupting or cutting 01! the flow of the contents ofthe container.

EARL E. HOLWICK.

